By Fr. Brian Kane
Rector, St. Gregory the Great Seminary; Director of Seminarians
“How can we support you?”
I was asked this question recently by a guest visiting St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward. My first thought was to explain more about what we do at St. Gregory’s in the hope that more people would better understand and appreciate—and therefore support, prayerfully and financially—this important apostolate in the Diocese of Lincoln and in the wider Church.
I’d like to respond to some of the most commonly asked questions we hear, including: How many seminarians do you have? Where are they from? How much is the tuition? Where does your funding come from?
St. Gregory the Great Seminary is a ministry of the Diocese of Lincoln. We are in our 25th year of operation in Seward. We have a board of trustees that meets quarterly. Bishop James Conley is chairman of the board of trustees, which is made up of lay men and women, priests and another diocesan bishop, who sends his seminarians to St. Gregory’s.
The trustees help oversee the governance and strategic operations of the seminary. Each quarter, the rector and trustee committees report to the board and receive feedback and guidance. We are adding new members to the board and expanding the number of standing committees to assist with our projects. One of the board’s tasks is to review the budget and audit and set the annual tuition.
Tuition and room and board at St. Gregory’s total about $30,000. The seminary relies on additional development and fundraising to bridge the gap between the cost per seminarian and additional expenses. The seminary is self-funded, meaning it does not receive money from the Diocese of Lincoln for any operating expenses. The annual Bishop’s Appeal for Vocations is used to fund tuition and expenses for all of our seminarians—at St. Gregory’s and for those studying in graduate seminaries in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The seminary benefits from estate planning gifts as well as other investment gifts that are used for day-to-day operations and for the seminary endowment.
Seminarians in the first five years of formation at St. Gregory’s are responsible for a portion of tuition each school year (equivalent to the cost of yearly tuition at a community college). For seminarians who need assistance with their portion of the tuition expense, we offer scholarships. Our scholarship fund is also supported by gifts made to the seminary, as well as endowments that provide funds each year.
Projects in the planning stages include a new gymnasium and exercise and weight room; updates to common areas in the seminary building, including improved lighting, tables and artwork in the seminary dining room. These projects, which are not included in the annual budget, present additional opportunities to support the seminary.
We educate seminarians studying for the Diocese of Lincoln as well as archdioceses and dioceses around the country. We partner with all three dioceses in Colorado: the Archdiocese of Denver and the dioceses of Colorado Springs and Pueblo. We have relationships with the dioceses of Fargo in North Dakota; Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri; Santa Rosa in California; and Rapid City in South Dakota. Lincoln seminarians benefit from a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences that seminarians from other dioceses contribute to the community.
This year, we have 24 seminarians across five years of formation. We provide formation for men who have completed high school and for those who have earned a college degree. The bishop has assigned five full-time priests to live and work at the seminary as formators, spiritual directors, professors and administrators. We have several priests who are pastors in parishes and teach or work part-time at the seminary.
We are blessed with dedicated lay faculty, staff and volunteers, as well as three religious sisters who live in a convent attached to the seminary. The sisters prepare meals for the community. The witness of lay and religious staff members is an important part of helping the men to be formed and experience a variety of vocations while discerning their own.
We welcomed 40 young men to our “Come and See Weekend” this month, and we have 11 men in application for the Diocese of Lincoln who would like to join us as seminarians in the fall. Our goal is to increase enrollment over the next few years to 40 seminarians. We have been working with other dioceses in the region, inviting them to consider sending seminarians to St. Gregory’s.
This is an exciting time to be involved in seminary formation and the preparation of our future priests. To answer the question, “How can we support you?” we are most grateful for the prayers offered by the faithful of the diocese for our seminarians and for the fruitful work of the seminary. We are also grateful for the ways many people join in our mission through their generous financial gifts and estate planning. We could not do what we do each day without these gifts.
If you would like to learn more about the seminary, please visit our website, www.sggs.edu, or contact us for information about including us in your estate planning or to make a gift to the seminary.
Thank you for your prayers and generosity. Each of you is in our prayers daily at Mass.
